Beyond the Timescape

Chapter 1213: The Inheritance of Fourth True Monarch

The Helioterran imperial clan in the Helioterra Universe had once possessed amazing innate abilities. Originally, their skin was half crimson red and half azure blue, and they had four faces, one looking in each direction. They had also been huge. At birth, they would be 300 meters tall, and by the time they reached maturity, they would be 3,000 meters tall. Some would even eventually reach a height of 30,000 meters.

Back then, their total population was vastly beyond most other species. In terms of cultivation, they didn’t have special techniques. They inherited legacies through soul and blood, and could automatically absorb the ringsource of the higher star ring. All of that was because their species descended from a True God!

Years ago, their species had conquered the Helioterra Universe, and had even spread their influence beyond that. In the past, they had been considered one of the central factors in the god cultivation system in the Fifth Star Ring.

Unfortunately… when immortals and gods waged war, the gods were eventually defeated. The immortals rose to power, and the Helioterrans’ glory became a thing of the past. Their True God ended up imprisoned.

And as a species, they withdrew from the war. In fact, they were one of the first species to surrender to the immortals. That was how they ended up surviving after the war ended. They were rewarded with the right to rule the Helioterra Universe, and were also allowed to have an imperial clan, which in the end was quite an honor.

There were similar imperial clans throughout the Fifth Star Ring, but all of them existed because of similar arrangements. That said, all such species in the Fifth Star Ring… had bloodline restrictions placed on them.

And thus, while the Helioterrans had once been dual-colored, their skin was now only a single color. And instead of having four faces, they had two. Their full-grown height was also limited. They could now grow no taller than 300 meters.

Something similar happened to their cultivation. Because of the limitations on their bloodline legacy, they lost their innate abilities. Eventually, they had to switch from the path of gods to that of cultivators. They had to learn to absorb spirit energy, and could only strive for immortal ascension, not godly ascension.

As generations passed, their two-face trait disappeared, and their numbers decreased. In the end, members of the so-called Helioterran imperial clan were mostly about 30 meters tall, and they only had one face.

But then the Aurora Immortal Palace went dark. The heaven beyond heaven had no lord, and finally, the Helioterran imperial clan had hope. Members of their species experienced ancestral awakenings, and they once again began to develop two faces. And they soon took over the universe.

Right now, in the depths of the Helioterra Universe, Sir Star Ring hovered outside of the Helioterrans imperial palace. Chains of order swirled around him, and his face was cold as he looked at the palace.

He was surrounded by countless Helioterrans, all of whom were 30 meters tall. They wore black armor, and pulsed with baleful auras as they glared coldly at him.

Directly in front of him, blocking the way to the imperial palace, were three figures. The three of them were over 200 meters tall, but not quite 300. One of them wielded a spear, one held a pagoda, and the last one had an enormous banner rising up behind him. Astonishingly, all of them pulsed with Quasi-Immortal auras.

Something like this could never happen in any of the other heavens beyond heaven. Nonhumans weren’t allowed to achieve immortal ascension. In fact, they weren’t even permitted to become Quasi-Immortals! But these three didn’t just emit Quasi-Immortal auras. They also pulsed with the fluctuations of the gods! They were cultivating the path of both immortals and gods!

As they stared at Sir Star Ring, the Helioterran with the banner at his back spoke in a raspy voice.

“Sire, you have fought with the three of us several times now, and every time it ends in a draw. What’s the point of continuing? You people came to this universe to collect a certain amount of ringsource. And yet, despite learning that we have an exemption medallion, you just keep pushing the issue. This… is just too much!

“We Helioterrans have a bottom line. Sire, I suggest… you not do anything to harm your own interests!”

Sir Star Ring’s expression was cold. He had been in this place for a while, but had only been able to fight up to this spot, no further. Any one of this group of three would be no problem for him to kill if he was fighting them alone. And if he had to fight two, he could wipe them out if he was willing to pay a heavy price. But three…. They worked together too well, making it impossible for him to make any headway.

In response to them, he coldly said, “It doesn’t matter to me if we get enough ringsource. It doesn’t matter to me that your species has broken the rules. It doesn’t matter to me if you achieve immortal ascension or godly ascension. In fact, it doesn’t even matter to me who you have backing and protecting you.

“The same goes for that exemption medallion. I just want… that lump of clay you have enshrined in your imperial palace!”

Sir Star Ring pointed directly at the palace off in the distance.

The imperial palace glittered, and a yellow lump of clay floated up inside of it, sending terrifying pulses out into the starry sky that contained the might of Heaven’s Principle!

“You want this?” said a cold voice from within the palace, its tone mocking. It was the emperor of the Helioterrans, who was 300 meters tall, pure red, and with two faces. “That’s the inheritance of Fourth True Monarch. You can’t have it.”

The emperor waved his hand, and the clay with Heaven’s Principle returned to him. Voice cold, he said, “Drive him away.”

The three Helioterrans who were blocking Sir Star Ring’s path suddenly surged with energy. It was very clear that they possessed, not just the will of immortals, but the will of gods. They started striding toward Sir Star Ring.

The other surrounding Helioterrans pulsed with baleful auras, and all of the energy combined, surrounding Sir Star Ring and forming a total of eighteen illusory statues wielding huge dagger-axes. Each of the eighteen statues was 30,000 meters tall and pulsed with terrifying fluctuations. As they surrounded Sir Star Ring, they seemed to bear down on him with mountain-toppling, sea-draining force. Rumbling sounds echoed out loudly.

Facing such opponents caused Sir Star Ring’s eyes to blaze with killing intent. Yet he still backed away. Of course, he had only been defeated once in his life, so despite facing so many powerful foes, he still wanted to fight. The chains of order swirled around him, and his canon of balance erupted. He was ready to fight this battle all on his own!

The two sides faced off, and neither seemed superior.

The eighteen statues and three Quasi-Immortals weren’t capable of crushing Sir Star Ring! That was how valiant Sir Star Ring was. His canon of order could maintain a sense of order between himself and enemies. And his canon of balance could ensure that disparities between weak and strong could be smoothed out. The stronger his opponent was, the more his canon of balance could bolster him and improve his battle prowess.

Back when Xu Qing fought him, Xu Qing had to rely on his parallel universes and alternate versions of himself. That was how he had disrupted Sir Star Ring’s balance. From that, it could be seen how strong Sir Star Ring was.

A sigh of admiration echoed out from the imperial palace. “You must be the strongest of the Acquisitioners who came here. For someone so young to have battle prowess like that proves that you’re truly a chosen. If you ever reach immortal ascension, you’ll definitely be an extremely powerful immortal!

“I guess I can’t blame you for coveting Fourth True Monarch’s inheritance…. It’s a perfect fit for your canon. That so-called balance of yours is going to be hard to sustain for long periods of time. For you, using your balance to maintain peak fighting prowess is your top strategy in a fight.

“Sadly, you have nothing to sustain your strongest state. I suppose if I gave you this bit of Heaven’s Principle, it would be the missing link you need to perfect that strategy.”

Sir Star Ring didn’t say a word in response. Originally, he had been about to say something….

“Well, I suppose I could give it to you. Become an ally of the Helioterran Dynasty, and my personal vassal. Fight for us three times. And then… I’ll give you Fourth True Monarch’s inheritance!”

Sir Star Ring looked coldly at the emperor, as if he were looking at an ant. “You think that you, a nothing species full of bloodline criminals, are worthy enough to have me as an ally?”

The surrounding Helioterrans glared at him with fury, and their baleful auras surged.

Inside the palace, the emperor laughed coldly. “I’m not worthy?”

He extended his right hand and pointed out with his index finger. The starry sky surrounding the imperial palace distorted and blurred. The colors seemed to peel away, leaving behind only black and white. Within that black and white, a huge finger of ink appeared, which majestically pushed down toward Sir Star Ring. As it passed, the void shattered and the starry sky withered.

A grim look appeared on Sir Star Ring as he backed up at top speed, all while performing a double-handed incantation gesture. He was getting ready to go all out.

That was when a familiar voice echoed through the starry sky.

“You’re right. You aren’t worthy.”

Endless crimson light spilled out of nowhere, inundating the black and white, and causing the colorless region to turn bright red! Within that red was a leafy kelp plant. It had a total of twelve leaves, which swayed back and forth like whips. Then they lashed toward the finger.

A pop rang out. Unstoppable force surged forth, destroying the void and shattering the starry sky. The finger stopped moving and then dissipated.

The eighteen statues shivered and crumbled. The three Helioterran experts looked shocked as they were sent tumbling backward, coughing up blood like mad.

Inside the imperial palace, the previously composed Helioterran emperor had the same expression on both faces: astonishment. Then his divine will swept out, converging outside of the palace into the form of a face that looked at the huge kelp plant! And it was looking at… the young man in black standing on the kelp!

The young man had his hands clasped behind his back. His eyes sparkled like stars as he looked calmly at the face. Unsurprisingly, the emperor recognized the kelp! And because he recognized it, he was shaken to the core.

Prison A29… actually came with this guy?? This guy’s aura is clearly stronger than the fellow with the canon of order. Don’t tell me he’s actually the leader of this Acquisitioner squad?

This was a different heaven beyond heaven, so the Helioterran emperor wasn’t as up-to-date on the news from the Nineshores Heaven.

Meanwhile, Sir Star Ring did not suddenly feel calmer thanks to Xu Qing’s arrival. In fact, quite the opposite. And that was because….

Xu Qing has gotten even stronger!

Xu Qing was indeed stronger. Along the way, he had absorbed some of the ringsource stored in other space-times. As of now, he was only a tiny sliver away from achieving major success in the undying illusory reality of the immortal embryo! And because of that improvement, his canon was far mightier.

As he stood on the kelp leaf looking at the huge face of the emperor, he coolly said, “Hand it over.”